Mode(s) Single player Designer David Rolfe Genre Shoot 'em up | Initial release date 1983 Publisher Activision | |
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Release date(s) Intellivision
INT: 1983
Atari 2600
INT: 1983
Atari 5200
NA: 1983 Developers Activision, Activision Blizzard, Cheshire Engineering, Software Conversions Platforms Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Intellivision, ColecoVision, MSX, Atari 5200, ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit family Similar Buck Rogers: Planet of, Keystone Kapers, The Dreadnaught Factor, Demon Attack, Megamania | ||
Classic game room beamrider review for intellivision
Beamrider is a fixed shooter designed for the Intellivision by David Rolfe and published by Activision in 1983. The game was then ported to the Atari 2600 (with a slightly reduced feature set), Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum as well as the MSX platform.
Contents
- Classic game room beamrider review for intellivision
- Classic game room beamrider review for atari computers
- Gameplay
- Reception
- References
Classic game room beamrider review for atari computers
Gameplay
Beamrider takes place above Earth's atmosphere, where a large alien shield called the Restrictor Shield surrounds the Earth. The player's objective is to clear the Shield's 99 sectors of alien craft while piloting the Beamrider ship. The Beamrider is equipped with a short-range laser lariat and a limited supply of torpedoes. The player is given three at the start of each sector.
To clear a sector, fifteen enemy ships must be destroyed. A "Sentinel ship" will then appear, which can be destroyed using a torpedo (if any remain) for bonus points. Some enemy ships can only be destroyed with torpedoes, and some must simply be dodged. Occasionally during a sector, "Yellow Rejuvenators" (extra lives) appear. They can be picked up for an extra ship, but if they are shot they will transform into ship-damaging debris.
Activision offered special Beamrider patches to players who could get to Sector 14 with 40,000 points and sent in a screenshot of their accomplishment.
Reception
The Deseret News in 1984 gave the ColecoVision version of Beamrider three stars, describing it as "basically a slide-and-shoot space game."
A reviewer for Your Commodore described the Commodore 64 version of the game as "a really good, wholesome arcade zapping game."